


Not So Heir To The Throne: Marlena Lucis Caelum

by KokiriGirlMoe



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Gen, High School, Humor, Multi, Original Character(s), Other, Physical Abuse, Romance, Teen Angst, Teen Romance, Teen Years, Teenage Rebellion, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-04-23
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:48:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23405557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KokiriGirlMoe/pseuds/KokiriGirlMoe
Summary: What's up, I'm Marlena. You know, Noct's younger sister? Yeah, the princess and actress/singer. I'm here to tell you about all the cool and not-so-cool things that's happened years before my brother went and got hitched. We're talkin High School and Post-High School shenanigans. It's a lot so sit down, strap in/buckle up and get ready for a wild ride. I'll be telling this story from my point of view, cool? Cool.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Original Female Character(s), Ignis Scientia/Original Female Character(s), Noctis Lucis Caelum/Original Female Character(s), Prompto Argentum/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 5





	1. Proper Introductions of the Princess

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for clicking on this! I haven't posted a fanfic in over a decade so I'm a bit nervous how this is going to turn out haha ^_^'

The crown city sweetheart, Insomnia’s top model, or as my family knew me, princess Marlena Lucis Caelum. Yeah, that’s me. Hey, welcome to my story! Strap in, it’s gonna be kinda wild from here on out. Let’s start with talking about me for a bit, cool? Cool.

Being the second born meant I wasn’t in line for the throne, which is fine. I didn’t want it anyways, what I really wanted was to be an actress or a singer. I achieved both goals by the age of 17. King Regis, I mean, my dad, wasn’t very attentive to me. Letting me aim for any goal I had in my heart. He was fixated on the state of the kingdom more than anything else. 

When I was young, my brother Noctis and father left for Tenebrae. I was left behind with the members of the crownsguard and a few retainers. That’s about the time when I started acting classes and singing lessons, shaping me into one of the greatest stars in all of the Crown City. I didn’t go to regular school like Noct. I was home schooled for all of grade school and middle school, mostly because I was in so many films. I didn’t have time to go to school then straight to film shoots and such, I was too busy making my way to the top.

At the age of 17 I was the top actress in Insomnia, being in tons of movies, dozens upon dozens of interviews and advertisements. Everyone in the crown city had their eyes on me, no pressure or anything. Ha, who am I kidding. Being in such a large spotlight came with its downsides like social anxiety and an extreme fear of disappointing my father and giving the royal family a bad name. Thankfully donating large sums of money to charities has made my father proud of me. 

I did end up slipping during an interview while on one of the major talk shows. The host asked, “Since you are home schooled and your older brother, Prince Noctis isn’t, do you have any plans on attending public school?”. During 90% of every interview I’ve ever been a part of, Noctis was always brought up. I was tired of being compared to my older brother after the 20th interview that did bring him up in conversation. I answered as logically and politely as I possibly could.

“Seeing that my work schedule doesn’t naturally line up with the regular school schedule, it just seems more beneficial and logical for me to be home schooled.” What the talk show host said next is what made me get extremely upset. “Have you thought about going to public school? How are fans your age and younger supposed to look up to you and relate to you if you haven’t experienced real life.” With that said, I thanked the host for having me on her show and left mid interview. I received a lot of backlash from thousands of fans.

My manager, Kiko, and I had a talk about me going to public school for a year and doing smaller movie roles in the time being. I even had an audience with my father and we discussed the situation at hand and he agreed that I attend my senior year at public school with my brother. I made an announcement on social media that I would be attending regular school and fans seemed to be happy with my decision. I even moved out of the palace and into the same apartment complex as Noctis but on a different floor. 

Move in day.

I was carrying in a medium sized box from the moving truck to the entrance of the apartment building when I ran into Noctis and one of his friends.

“Hey.” I said nonchalantly to him as he stopped in front of me. Noct and I were kinda close. We mostly texted each other during the day, trying to keep up with one another. He was pretty supportive of me and we didn’t really have arguments, considering we mostly talked through text. We definitely looked like we could be siblings since we had the same color hair and similar facial features. 

“Hey, what’s going on?” Noct asked, holding his school bag over his shoulder and his other hand in his pocket. He must’ve just been getting home from school, seeing that he was wearing a school uniform.

“Moving in. Care to help a girl out?” I smiled hoping he’d say yes. He sighed, placing his school bag on top of the box and taking it from my hands. I looked over at his friend who was standing next to him. His friend had blond hair which wasn’t common in Lucis. He was about the same height as Noct and had a nervous expression on his face.

“I’m assuming you’re one of Noct’s friends?” I asked curiously, wanting to know more about this strange boy. 

“Uh y-yeah! I’m Prompto.” He stuttered, smiling nervously. He was a cute one for sure. I held my hand out and introduced myself as well. “Nice to meet you Prompto, I’m Marlena. Noct’s younger sister.” 

Prompto shook my hand and started blushing immensely. “Haha, why so nervous?” I called him out on his behavior. “Uh, I’m a pretty big fan of yours and I never thought I’d meet you in real life. So, I’m not so sure what to say or how to act in front of a celebrity.” He replied, speaking faster than before. I laughed and patted him on the arm. “Don’t sweat it.” I turned to Noct and smiled, “Alright let’s get that last box to the 20th floor.” He turned to his friend, “I’ll see ya tomorrow in class.” 

The two of us walked into my new apartment that was filled with boxes of my belongings. Noctis set the box that he was carrying on the floor next to my bedroom door. 

“Well, this is it. My new home.” I announced walking down the hall to the kitchen and living room. It was a big change for me to be living on my own but I was most certainly ready to be on my own. 

“I’m assuming you start classes with me tomorrow.” Noct said looking through one of the boxes that was on the dining room table. “Yeah, I start my normal teenage life tomorrow morning.” I sighed, disappointed at the fact that I have to put my career on hold. “By the way, you wouldn’t mind me walking with you to school, would you?” I asked, crossing my arms, looking at my brother.

He looked over at me and placed a hand on his hip, “No, I don’t mind. Why are you doing this again?” I groaned and plopped down on the couch in the living room. “I have to be relatable to my fans. Dad also thought it would be good for me to actually live out a ‘normal’ teen life, even if it is just for a year.” I rubbed my face with both hands. 

“Well, high school isn’t how it is in the movies. Just be prepared.” Noctis warned me. I couldn’t help but laugh, “Yeah, I know it’s not like the movies. Love isn’t going to happen in the hallways and no teacher is going to fall for a student.” I looked at Noct and sighed, “Speaking of love, have you heard from Luna?”

He Shook his head and took a seat on the other side of the wrap around couch. “Not lately, I still have to reply back to her. How are you and your boyfriend?” 

My boyfriend. I completely forgot to tell you guys about him. He was one of my co-stars from one of the films I was in. His name is Calrin. He’s 19, tall, handsome, brown hair with brown eyes. We had some real chemistry while working side by side and one thing led to another. Do I love him? Uh, love is a pretty strong word, especially for a 17 year old. I definitely have strong feelings towards him, if that answers your question. Lately he’s been acting a bit strange, well, hostile. He just joined a boy band and I think his band mates are starting to get into his head...

“Cal and I are doing just fine.” I replied to my brother. He sat forward and smirked, “Since you don’t live at the palace anymore, does that mean he’s going to be over here often?” Noctis pried. I squinted my eyes at him. “No. This is my safe space, where I can be by myself and relax for once.” 

Noct chuckled and stood up, “Whatever you say, sister.” He started walking to the hallway. “I’m headed out. I’ll see ya tomorrow.” 

“Alright, later.” I called out laying on the couch, stressing about school tomorrow. I had everything I needed to be prepared for the big day. My school uniform was neatly folded on the bathroom counter, thanks to Ignis. I instructed him to leave it there so I could put it on after my shower in the morning. The more I thought about tomorrow’s school day, the more I started feeling stressed about it. 

The Next Morning.

I was applying some eyeliner at my vanity and noticed my hand was slightly shaking. I tried not to notice the school uniform I was wearing, it was comfortable but it felt weird wearing something that felt like a costume for a movie shoot. I even did my tie right, after watching a couple tutorials on MoogTube. 

Despite it only being six a.m., I wanted the day to be over with already. As much as I loved having all eyes on me, I lowkey was hoping that none of the students would recognize me as the Crown City Sweetheart.

I tapped my semi-long coffin shaped acrylic nails on my desk and thought to myself. If I don’t say anything to anyone and keep my distance from Noct, I’m sure no one would suspect a thing. I never disclosed what school I was attending to the public during interviews. 

I guessed wrong. As soon as Noctis and I arrived at school, we were bombarded. 

“Oh my gods! It’s the princess!!” “The Crown City Sweetheart? Here!?” “I can’t believe I go to the same school as the prince and princess!” 

Those were just some of the things the students were screaming, until the class presidents and staff stepped in to calm the students down.

“Well, this is awesome.” Noct sighed with sarcasm in his voice. 

“Shut up, this is exactly what happened when you started here too.” I retorted back at him.

I followed him to our class, there were a few students sitting at their desks and gathered around their friends.

“Sit behind me, I wouldn’t want you next to some creep that might try something.” Noct took his seat next to the window. I nodded my head, following his instructions. 

I was supposed to be in the class below Nocts but when I took the entrance exam, I surpassed everyone in my recommended grade. I was fine with it, really. I fit in better with the older kids. 

I took my seat behind Noctis and noticed his friend from yesterday walking towards him.

“Mornin’ Noct!” The blond called out sitting in front of Noct. “I see you and your sister made quite the entrance when you guys arrived together. Must be nice being famous.” The blond sighed.

The two talked for a few minutes while I was scrolling through my social media. 

“Uh oh, better put that away before you get it confiscated.” 

I looked up and saw Noctis and his friend looking at me.

“Am I not allowed to have my phone with me?” I asked, placing it in my skirt pocket. 

Noct shook his head, “Did you read the student hand book at all?” 

I raised a brow, “No, not yet. Are the rules here as strict as the rules at the palace?” 

Noctis laughed. “The rules here are more strict. Better read up so you don't get in trouble.” He turned around. I stuck my tongue out at him and started taking out a notebook and some pens from my bag. 

The teacher walked in and started directing class. He flipped through some papers and shot a stare right at me. “It looks like we have a new student among us. Please, if you would, come up and introduce yourself to the class.” 

My heart started beating out of my chest. I stood up and made my way to the front of the class. I tried my absolute best to keep my composure.

“Hello. I’m Marlena Lucis Caelum. I know many of you know me as the princess or a celebrity, but I would like it if you saw me as just another student here. I am here to learn, make new friendships and have new experiences. Thank you.” I spoke with poise then taking my seat. 

As the lesson went on, a note was placed on my desk from a boy who was sitting to the left of me. I looked over at him and he pointed at Nocts friend who was sitting on the other side of the classroom. I unfolded the note and read its contents.

_Hey, Noct and I are going to the arcade after school today. You in?_

I thought to myself, trying to remember if I had any plans afterwards. The only thing I could think of is meeting up with Calrin for dinner. I replied back with:

_I do have plans but not till later, so maybe?_

I made sure to pass the note to the boy sitting next to me while the teacher had his back turned. I saw from the corner of my eye that the note did make it to the original sender. He opened it up and read it, I could see a smile form at the corner of his mouth. I wanted to be involved with Nocts life as much as possible, so this would be a good opportunity.

The bell rang for lunch. Many of my classmates got out of their seats and started roaming about the school. I just sat at my desk and looked over the notes I had taken.

“Hey so the three of us are going to the arcade after school today, right?” An excited voice said to Noctis and I. I looked up and there he was, the blond from earlier.

“The three of us?” Noct asked, confused. 

“Yeah! Marlena said she might be able to.”

Noctis turned to me and waited for me to answer.

“Uh yeah. I have dinner plans at 5, so I won't stay out with you guys for long” I responded.

“Dinner plans with your boyfriend I presume?” Noct smiled slyly.

I felt my face turn a slight shade of pink. I never go into detail about my relationships with Noct, because he likes to blow things out of proportion and make me uncomfortable.

“Perhaps.” 

Noct crossed his arms with that sly smile still across his face. “The throws of young love.” He looked up at his friend, “Meet us at our usual place after class.” His freckled faced friend smiled and gave him a thumbs up. “You bet!”

The teacher dismissed the class and everyone started packing up, getting ready to go to sports practises, after school clubs, and other extracurricular activities. I sat back in my seat and let out a long sigh.

“I am ready to get outta here.” I stretched my arms behind over my head, relieved that the school day was over. I had written down at least seven pages of notes that I would look over later tonight.

“Heyaz! You ready to get our game on?!” I looked over to see Nocts friend again. I couldn’t remember his name, which is extremely rude. I just politely smiled and nodded my head. Looking down at my desk, clearing all of my supplies into my bag and getting ready to head out. Standing up next to the blondie, noticing he’s only an inch or so shorter than my brother. 

“Where are we meeting my brother? It seems he’s disappeared just as the bell rang.” I asked.

“Huh, he was here just a moment ago. We usually meet up right out front of the school, c’mon let’s go!” He grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the room in a frantic manner. 

He had a pretty tight grip on my wrist, I looked up at him as we raced down the halls. He was blushing, hard. His usual pale face had turned into a deep pink. I knew most of the guys who claimed to be my fan must have some sort of attraction towards me. Blondie over here, was no exception. 

We arrived at the front of the school and still no sign of my brother. 

“Well, I don’t see him.” I peered around, looking for him. I looked back over at Nocts friend, still having a tight grip on my wrist. “You’ve got a good grip there, bud.” I chuckled. The boy looked down at me and blushed even harder, letting go of me. 

“S-sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you!” He sputtered out.

I laughed and grabbed my wrist with my other hand. This boy was playful from what I could gather. Sweet and playful like a puppy.

“It’s okay,” I laughed, “It’s not often I get man handled.” I winked at him. Blondie’s face turned bright red in embarrassment. He tried to laugh it off with me but I could hear the sheer humiliation in his tone. 

“What’s your name again? I’m sorry I’m asking this again, I’m terrible with names.” I turned my body to face him. Getting a good look at this boy. Face covered with freckles, blue-violet eyes, what still really throws me off is his blond hair. 

“I-It’s Prompto. Prompto Argentum.” He shyly smiled. 

“Prompto Argentum.” I placed my hand on my chin and thought about his name for a moment. “That loosely translates to quicksilver from old Lucian, if I recall. It’s clever.” I looked back up at him and smiled. He blushed even more, covering his lower face with his hand. The way this boy was blushing was like a child. Was he not used to this kind of attention? I wanted to know more about this Prompto.

Noct came from around the corner of the school, surely leaving from the side entrance. “Took you long enough!” Prompto exclaimed, still red as a tomato. “I got mauled by a group of guys on my way to my locker.” Noct shot a look over at me.

“Yeah, and?” I crossed my arms, raising a brow. “They tryna get your number or something?” I joked, nudging Prompto with my elbow and he let out a small giggle. Noct glared at me and motioned us to start walking. “No, they wanted more details about the lovely Crown City Sweetheart.” He muttered as we all walked down the sidewalk. Noct was in between Prompto and I. “Well, what exactly did they ask you?” I questioned. Noct smirked “Oh you know, if I could give them your number. I said no, obviously. I thought everyone knew about your relationship with that pop star you’ve been dating for the past couple of years.”

I thought so too, but the press and media likes to bend the truth and fabricate stories. I looked up at Noct and raised an eyebrow.

“You know how the media is when it comes to the royal family and the stars of Insomnia. You should’ve just given those guys your number, you seem pretty lonely these days in regards to your lack of pursuing a relationship.” I chuckled. Prompto butted in and put his arm around Nocts shoulders, “Nah, he doesn’t need a girlfriend! If he did get one, I’m afraid she’ll steal him away and I might never see him again.” Noctis laughed and playfully punched his friend in the side. “That would never happen, buddy.” 

We continued to one of the main shopping districts where there was an arcade. I followed the two boys into the arcade where they led me to a zombie shooting game. “You any good at games, Marlena?” Prompto asked, flashing me an awkward smile. I smiled back and nodded my head, “Yeah, I’m pretty alright. Depends on the game though.” Noctis set down his school bag in front of the game and started inserting money. I looked around the arcade while Prompto and Noct started shooting zombies.

I personally wasn’t a fan of anything undead related, I always got nightmares from them. I walked around the arcade for a minute or two until one of the games caught my attention. Dance Crush. It was basically the new DDR but without any arrows. It had motion detecting and foot sensors over a squared area. I put a few dollars in and hopped to it. 

After playing for a few songs, I could feel myself getting a bit warm so I took off my overcoat, loosened my tie and unbuttoned my shirt down to below my collar. After what seemed like a short while, I felt someone staring at me as I played. I turned my head and saw my brother and his companion watching me as I killed it on the dance floor. 

“That looks like so much fun! Noct, we gotta give it a go after she’s done!” I heard Prompto exclaim to my brother. “Yeah, I’m not too big on dancing or rhythm based games.” He said boringly. Noct was the laziest person I knew. He used to call me all the time asking me to drop food off to him at his apartment when I was still living at the palace. Did I do it? Of course, I’m not going to let my brother starve but when I did show up, he already had food in his kitchen that he didn’t want to make.

As the song ended I noticed Prompto standing next to me on the player 2 dance pad. He really wanted to give this game a go. I inserted more money into the machine for him.

“You can pick the next song.” I said looking over at him. “A-Are you sure? I don’t want to pick anything you won't like.” He laughed nervously rubbing the back of his neck. “I don’t care what song you pick.” I laughed. He nodded his head and looked through the song list, picking one before the timer ran out. He had adjusted the settings so the footwork would be on the easiest level, while I’m over here on medium already.

My phone started to buzz in the middle of the song, I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it over to Noct saying, “Here, answer it for me.” He took my phone and did just that. I was too focused on the game to tune in on what he was saying. As soon as the game ended I hopped off the dance pad and stood in front of Noct.

“So, who was it?” I asked reaching for my school coat I had tossed to the side earlier.

“Calrin, you’re late meeting him for dinner.” He casually said handing me my phone back. I frantically looked at the time. 6:30 PM. “Holy shit. I lost track of time.” I groaned, putting a hand on my cheek.

“Well, duh. Time flies when you’re having fun!” Prompto said playfully. 

“What did you tell him?” I asked Noct.

“I told him we were here at the Arcade near the Archean shopping district. He sounded like he was on his way.” 

I wasn’t ready for Noctis to formally meet the man I was invested in. Who knows what might be said. Cal was the jealous type and I mean, JEALOUS. He was also very insecure, which is weird for a popstar like him. For the longest time, I had to keep reassuring him that our relationship was real and that I actually liked him. It was dreadful for a while but we ended up making compromises and trying to fix our situation. But I was truly terrified of how he was going to react to my brother and now I have to worry about how he’s going to treat Prompto.

“There you are, sweetheart.”


	2. It Could've Been Worse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We finally get to meet Marlena's terrible boyfriend. Noctis isn't a fan of this guy and Prompto seems to be wary of him. We'll see how long this relationship lasts...
> 
> There's a bit of physical and mental abuse in this chapter, if you don't feel comfortable reading this type of content please don't continue any further.

I stood there in a bit of a shock. Calrin had actually came to find me for our date. This was truly a first.

“Cal, I’m sorry I kept you waiting. I lost track of time.” I apologized. He smiled and walked over to me, placing a hand on my shoulder. He was much taller than I was, even taller than Noct. 

“You’re all sweaty. Were you really going to meet me looking like a mess?” He laughed.

This is where I started getting incredibly nervous. I knew we were going to have a fight about this later on and I was already trying to mentally prepare for it. 

“Who cares what she looks like. It’s not like her make up is messed up. She looks fine to me.” Noctis placed a hand in his pocket while holding his school bag in his other hand, having it over his shoulder. Calrin looked over at my brother and instantly knew that this wasn’t the place to have a temper tantrum, especially in front of the prince.

“Ah, your highness. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” Calrin bowed before him. Noct had an evil smile across his face. I looked back at Prompto who looked like he was about to shit a brick. 

“I didn’t realize my little Marlena was with you. Otherwise I would’ve just rescheduled.” My boyfriend said standing straight up. I could tell he was trying hard to be nice to my brother. 

“Of course. Who else would she be with? We do go to school together now.” Noct retorted. “Besides, who did you really think it was that answered her phone, her other boyfriend?” 

This caught Calrin by surprise. Was he really getting lip from the prince himself? His expression was priceless. 

“I really do apologise, Prince Noctis. I really should put more trust in my beloved girlfriend.” Cal turned his gaze to Prompto who was standing right behind me, changing his expression to disgust. “And who might this be, darling?” he asked, looking Prompto up and down.

“He’s my friend, so don’t even worry about him. Maybe you and Marlena should reschedule for another time. We have homework and studying to do.” Noctis continued.

I cleared my throat and nodded.

“I do believe my brother is right. We do have homework and studying to do. I’m really sorry that I lost track of time. I’ll make it up to you later this week, okay?” I tried smiling at my boyfriend. It was hard trying to smile at someone you knew who was mad at you for missing an important dinner. He looked back at me with anger in his eyes but with a smile still on his face.

“You’re too cute, sweetheart. Just let me know what your schedule is for the weekend and we can plan something. Enjoy the rest of the night with your brother and his friend.” He said seductively, lifting my chin up with a finger and kissing me on the lips. “Give me a call tonight, like usual?” I nodded my head. 

Once Calrin was out of sight, I took a deep sigh. “You guys wanna grab dinner? It’s on me.” I looked at the two standing there, Noct with his evil smirk still on his face and Prompto trying to process everything that had just happened.

“Free food? I’m down. C’mon Prom, let’s get some free food, courtesy of the crown city sweetheart.” Noct said in a subtle evil tone. “U-Uh, sure! If she’s offering, it’d be rude to decline.” Prompto replied frantically.

We ended up at a local revolving sushi bar. I sat next to Noctis while Prompto sat across from us in the booth.

“So that boyfriend of yours, he always act like that?” My brother asked before stuffing his face with salmon sashimi. “No.” I grumbled. “He’s just been on edge since he stopped acting and joined that all boy pop group.”

“Wait, I knew he looked familiar. He was in that one movie with you and he was the love interest... Fly Me To The Moon, right?” Prompto recalled. I nodded my head, “Yeah, that’s him.”

“So, do you love him or not?” Noct glanced over at me as I ate. “Love is a pretty strong word.” I laughed. “I like him and care about him a lot.”

Noct put his chopsticks down and looked at me. “That doesn’t answer my question. You love the dude or not? You can’t be with someone for two years and not have any loving feelings for them.”

I smirked, setting my chopsticks down as well and crossing my arms. “Well here I am, beating the odds. You really think dad would let me marry a guy like that?” I retorted in a playful manner.

“Then, why are you with him?” Prompto butted in, grabbing a plate from the conveyor belt. “Yeah, what’s the real reason you’re with him.” Noct pressed the subject. 

I looked at both of them. I knew I could trust these two, it’s not like they would tell the press the real reason as to why Calrin and I were together. But I wasn’t going to let them in on the secret that easily. I motioned them to lean in, “If I tell you two the real reason, you have to promise not to tell anyone.” I said in a hushed tone. The two leaned in closer, anticipating my answer. I leaned back and said “That dick is too bomb to give up.” I laughed. Thankfully the sushi bar was overwhelmed with other patrons chatter so it was muffled within the building.

Noct leaned back in his seat with an annoyed face. “You’re seriously the worst.” Prom had a confused look on his face. “Wait, I don’t get it. What does that even mean?!” I couldn’t help but laugh at his reaction. 

“I’ll explain it to you later.” my brother replied in a disappointed tone. “But, you.” He pointed at me. “We need to talk about serious matters later.” 

“You’ve been hanging out with Iggy a bit too much, Noct. Relax, we’re young. We can have as much fun as we want.” I pointed my chopsticks at him then proceeded to eat more sushi. 

“H-Hey, Marlena. Can I ask you something?” Prompto asked nervously. I looked over at him and smiled. “Sure, what’s up?” He pulled out a camera and grinned. “Could I take a selfie with you and Noct?” 

I loved photography, even if it was a silly selfie. I did a lot of photoshoots in my life and they’re always so much fun. Holding a camera on the other hand is a whole different story. I had a passion for it but never had enough time to get out there and do a bit myself.

“Of course!” I said with much excitement. Prompto turned his body and got his camera in position. I grabbed a hold of Noct, arms wrapped around him and showing him some sibling love. Prompto took a few photos, making sure he got the shot. He turned back to face us and looked at his camera. “Aw, look at us! Noct, you and Marlena are adorable!” He handed me his camera so I could see the photo he took. It was really adorable and the lighting was just right under all the fluorescent lights that usually look terrible in pictures.

“You’ve got talent for getting the lighting right.” I said observing the picture. “Photography is definitely my favorite hobby.” Prompto blushed. 

We finished up our dinner, with me paying an arm and a leg for all of the plates the boys ate. Which was fine, I had a blast with my brother and his friend. The three of us were walking down the street a bit until the two boys stopped.

“Well, this is where we split.” Noct said. I looked at Prompto who was smiling and waving to us. “Thanks for today, I had a lot of fun with you and your sis, Noct.” Noctis smiled and nodded his head. “Thank you for dinner, Marlena!” Prompto bowed. “It was my pleasure, I had fun hanging out today. I hope we can do this often.” I giggled. Prompto stood up straight and started to blush. 

“Anyways, it’s getting late. Marlena and I should be headed home. See ya tomorrow.” Noctis and Prompto fist bumped. I then gave Prompto a friendly hug, to which he hugged back. 

“Get home safe, okay?” I smiled at him as I let go. He started blushing harder, his face as red as a tomato. “U-uh yeah! You too.” 

As Noct and I were walking home, he said something that was definitely an attention grabber.

“He likes you.” Noct smiled. “I like him too, he seems like a good friend to you.” I replied quickly, making light of the subject. 

“No, like, I’m pretty sure he has a crush on you.” My brother looked over at me as we kept walking. I chuckled, “And what makes you think that? We just met.” I side eyed him. Noctis shrugged, “His phone wallpaper was of you for the longest time, before I told him that you were my sister.” “Yeah, but I’m sure lots of guys do as well. That’s usually what happens when you’re famous.” I retorted. 

He stopped walking and looked at me with seriousness. “I don’t think you get it. When we ran into you yesterday when you were moving in, he couldn’t stop asking questions about you. We talked on the phone for hours that night.” I shook my head, “I think you’re overthinking this. He’s just a big fan. I get it, this isn’t the first time that this has happened. Besides, you can’t form a crush in a matter of a day. He only knows the movie versions of myself, not the real me.” I continued walking towards the apartment. Noctis caught up to me, “Think whatever you want, I guess I’ll be the only one to know the truth.” 

I laid in bed that night thinking of what Noct said to me. The truth. I literally just met blondie and he had already formed a crush on me. I kept over thinking what Noctis meant by ‘the only one to know the truth.’ I reached for my phone and called Noct, wanting answers.

“You’re calling pretty late.” my brother answered. “Hey so, what did you mean by you’ll be the only one to know the truth?” I placed a hand over the top half of my face. “Are you really over thinking what I said earlier? I bet it’s eating you up if you’re calling me this late.” He had a smug tone.

“I just want to know the truth, that’s all.” I sighed. There was a moment of silence. “You missed your chance, you wanted to walk off and not listen to me.” Noct replied being an ass. I groaned, “C’mon man. I bought you and your friend dinner.” “Yeah, and I almost had to throw hands with your boyfriend. If you want to know so badly, how about I add Prompto to this call. I’m sure he’d love to talk to you more.”

I immediately hung up on my brother and tossed my phone to the other side of my queen sized bed. Safe to say I didn’t sleep well that night. I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing around 4 am. I rolled over and felt around for my phone, finding it pretty quickly. 

“Hello?” I answered in a groggy voice. “Thanks for calling me when I had asked you to.”

Oh shit. It was Calrin. I was supposed to call him as soon as I got home yesterday. “I’m sorry, I got wrapped up in homework and studying.” I sat up, putting my boyfriend on speaker and going through my notifications. “But you weren’t too busy to go get sushi with your brother and his attractive school friend after we had talked earlier.” Cal retorted angrily. “I saw the three of you go to that sushi place while I was on my way to my apartment. Real nice of you to invite me.” 

I sighed, shaking my head and laying back down, turning my phone screen off but still listening to my boyfriend bitch at me. After listening to him for 10 minutes, I finally spoke up. “Alright Cal, if you’re this upset over me spending time with my brother, then I don’t think we should be together. I’m not some doll you can toss around, I’m the princess of Lucis and you will not talk to me like that.” At this point I was just fed up with him, I didn’t really care if things between us had ended. He’s been out of line since he joined this new boy band and I was sick of his attitude.

“Mar, please don’t. I love you and you know that. I’m just stressed and I’m worried about you and your transition. I miss you, we don’t see each other often anymore. Please don’t do this.” He pleaded. “Then you need to cut your shit and not talk to me like I’m no one. Next time this happens, you’re done. I have to go back to bed, I have school in a few hours.” I asserted. He sighed, “Okay, sleep well my princess. I love you.” I hung up on him, not saying ‘I love you’ back. 

I laid there unable to fall back asleep, due to my anxiety from that conversation. I scrolled through my social media apps, landing on insta. I was curious if Nocts friend followed me and to my surprise, he did. **Running_ChocoBoyy** was his handle. I clicked on his profile, curious as to what he posts. It was basically a photography page with a few selfies with my brother. Following 539 people and having 219 followers, he wasn’t too popular. Having roughly 30 likes on each photo, not bad. I gave him a follow and liked his three most recent posts. He was actually pretty talented, photography was definitely his calling. I decided to check my Twittuar and there he was again, this time his handle was **Chocoboii_**. He followed 458 people and only had 172 followers. I scrolled through his page and read his posts. It was mostly him saying how his fitness journey was going, posting before and after pictures. I decided to follow him back. What I usually posted on my social media were photos from shoots, selfies, and new books I was reading. Twittuar was usually just me posting random thoughts throughout the day and promoting other stars, hyping them up, if you will. 

I returned to my phone's home screen and instantly got a direct message on insta from the blond himself.

**Running_ChocoBoyy:** Hey! Thanks for the follow and liking my posts!!

I read it and instantly smiled, also curious as to why he was up so early.

**MarlenaLCaelum:** No problem :) Wasn’t expecting you to message this early haha

**Running_ChocoBoyy:** Sorry! I woke up to a notification that you followed me on here and 

Twittuar so I got kinda excited ^_^’ What are you doing up so early??

**MarlenaLCaelum:** Oh you’re fine lol, sorry for waking you up ha. I woke up a bit ago and couldn’t fall back asleep, so here I am. 

**Running_ChocoBoyy:** Ahhh so you’re stalking me ;) lol jk

I wouldn’t say stalking was the correct term. It was more or less curiosity, I wanted to see what kind of guy my brother is connected to the hip to. I better try and play it cool so he doesn’t get the wrong idea.

**MarlenaLCaelum:** I mean, if you’re friends with Noct, I wanna be friends with you two. Besides, you’re fun to be around. Even if it was just for a day lol.

I didn’t get a response back, so I took that as I came off a little too nice. I received a snapchat from Calrin not long after my little convo with chocoboy. I opened it and it was a selfie of him in bed, with no shirt with the caption: “I love you”. I replied back with a selfie with the flash on and of me with my face half in the pillow saying, “Ditto”.

I ended up being able to fall back asleep, waking up to the sound of my alarm going off at 6:30. I got up and did my morning routine of showering, doing my makeup and getting dressed. I looked at my phone and still no reply from blondie. I messaged him one more time before leaving for school.

**MarlenaLCaelum:** See you at school (^.^)

He messaged back instantly.

**Running_ChocoBoyy:** See ya there!!! ;D

A winking smiley face. I hope he doesn’t think I’m flirting, at least, I don’t think I am.

  
  


I met Noctis outside the apartment building. He looked like he had faced death himself last night. 

“Morning.” I greeted him. He shot a glare over at me, “You seem to have gotten a good night's rest, regardless of messaging Prompto early this morning.” I raised a brow, “How did you-” “Prompto called me all excited that you followed him back on social media and actually had a conversation with him.” He said cutting me off

I facepalmed and groaned, “Is he usually like this?” I asked. Noct shook his head, “I’ve never seen him get this excited over anyone else. Just don’t get too tangled up with him.” I could tell he was annoyed having his best friend obsess over his younger sister. “Come on, we better get going or we’ll be late.”

We made it to class a few minutes before it started, taking our seats we were met with the chocoboy himself.

“Good morning!” He chirped standing beside us. “It would be if I got a full night's rest.” Noct leaned his head on his hand while giving Prompto a disapproving look. “It’s not my fault that you answer your phone at all hours of the day!” Prompto protested. I changed my gaze from the two boys to the window.

“U-um excuse me, Marlena.” An unfamiliar boy's voice spoke. I looked over to see who it was. It was one of the boys that’s in our class. He was holding a pen and paper and visibly shaking. 

“Hi,” I smiled at him. He held out his pen and paper to me, getting extremely red in the face. “I was wondering if I could have your autograph!” He uttered quite fast. I nodded my head and took the pen and paper. “Who do I make this out to?” I looked up at him, pen ready to write. 

“Um, my name, Aris.” He stuttered. I nodded my head and smiled once more. 

Aris, I hope you have a great day and thanks for having me in your class! Much thanks ~Marlena CCS XO

“Here you go.” I handed him his pen and paper back then he ran away, all giddy. I looked back over at Noct and Prompto. They were both looking at me, Noct with a smug look on his face and Prompto with his usual sunshine smile.

“Can I have an autograph too?” Noct mocked. I glared at him, “You can ask dad for one.” Noct glared back, “I was going to give it to Prompto but nevermind.” He turned around.

Class started and everyone took their seats. I pulled out my notebook and started taking notes. The teacher walked over to my desk. “I’m sorry to bother you, you’ve been requested to the infirmary for your school physical.” He spoke in a hushed tone. I was confused. “Physical?” The teacher nodded his head. “You may go now so you don’t miss any of the other lessons for the day.” 

I got up from my seat and headed out into the hallway. I was still confused on why I had to have a physical in the infirmary when I could just ask the royal doctors to send over my health documents to the school. I sighed and continued down the hallway, hands in my pockets. The school was quite large so it took sometime to head over to the infirmary. When I got there, the nurse was nowhere to be seen. I stood there with my hands still in my pockets, waiting for someone to show up. After waiting for about 10 minutes, the door opened and I was met with blondie.

“Fancy meeting you here.” He joked, closing the door behind him. 

“Do you know if the nurse is even here?” I asked, getting a bit impatient. Prompto shrugged, “She should be here, I got called down for a physical.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why is a physical required?” I questioned him. I could see him get visibly nervous, “It’s just to make sure we’re all healthy, I-I suppose.” I simply nodded my head. 

The two of us awkwardly waited in silence for ten more minutes, until he broke it. 

“So, uh. There’s this chocobo exhibit downtown this weekend, I invited Noct to go, um would you want to tag along too?” He muttered nervously. I looked up at him and smiled, “That sounds like fun, I’m in.” Prompto flashed his radiant smile, that could light up any room. “Awesome! We’re going to have a blast!”

  
  


The school week came and went, Friday after school was the most stressful I’ve been all week. All thanks to my wonderful boyfriend.

“What do you mean, you’re busy this weekend? Do you have a photoshoot or something?” Calrin asked annoyed while following me around the kitchen as I placed my school bag on the counter and headed towards the fridge to grab a water bottle.

“I’m going to be with Noct this weekend. I haven’t had a full day with him in a long time and I’d like to catch up with him and what’s going on with our kingdoms politics.” I replied focused on the water bottle and not making eye contact with him.

“Are we ever going to have a day to ourselves?” He groaned. I felt for him, we haven’t had a full day to just us. But the time I spent with Noctis and Prompto after school the other day was the most fun I’ve had in years, I definitely didn’t want to miss out on more time with them. I walked over to Cal, placing my water on the counter and wrapped my arms around him.

“We will have a day just for us, let me adjust to this life change and get reacquainted with my brother again and we will have many many days just for us.” Cal sighed, “Okay, promise?” He hugged me back. “Of course.” I hummed. What he said next caught me off guard.

“I saw that you followed your brother's friend on insta and twittuar. What’s that about?” Cal scoffed. I let go of him and gave him a disapproving look. “Cal, are you serious right now?” I pushed him away. “What has gotten into you lately? You’ve never been jealous. Ever since you joined that boy band, X Night, you’ve been terrible to me.” I scolded him. “I can’t look out for my girlfriend? You try dating one of the most important girls in all of Eos and not be scared of losing her whenever a new guy walks into her life!” He yelled. I looked at him sternly in the eye, “Calrin Desir. We are done.” He was surprised by this.

“Y-You can’t do this! We’ve spent that last two years together and for what?” He exploded, his voice booming throughout my apartment. I cleared my throat and stood my ground. “Please leave and do not come back.” I demanded. Cal was in pure denial. I could see the anger in his whole body, he was practically shaking with pure anger. “You will regret this, Mar.” He barked. “We’ll see.” I responded in a sultry tone

With that said, he slapped me across the face with great force, it sounded like a sound effect from a movie with how loud it was. Making me almost fall back from this mighty slap. I placed a hand from where his hand met with my face, I could feel my cheek start to swell. I had tears welling up in my eyes. He hit me once more, this time it was a punch making my nose bleed. I was surely knocked down from this hit. After he had realized what he had done, he quickly ran from my apartment.

I sat on the floor, unsure of what to do. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed the only person I could confide in with what had just happened.

“Hey, Ignis? It’s Marlena.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for giving this a read! Sorry if the ending of this chapter was a bit much D:


	3. Becoming Friends with the Chocoboy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the incident with Marlena's now ex-boyfriend, Ignis comes over and helps her for a bit before her big day with Prompto at the chocobo exhibit/festival.

“Let’s see where he hurt you.” Ignis gently took my hand away from my cheek to inspect my half swollen face. “Does it look bad?” I cautiously asked. Iggy sighed, “You’ll most certainly have some bruising. As for your nose, you’re lucky that it’s not broken.” Tears started to fall from my eyes. “I swear I didn’t say anything revoking. I broke up with him and asked him to leave.”

Ignis carefully placed an ice pack on my face, “Unfortunately we will have to inform King Regis about this incident.” I started to cry even more, “Please, no. I don’t want to make my dad upset. He’s going to make me move back to the Citadel.” I sobbed. Iggy sighed, “You do realize the severity of the situation.” He was extremely concerned. He took my hand and placed it on the ice pack, having me hold it in place. “I do. This...this is something that will never happen again.” I cautioned. “I’ll start training with Gladiolus, so I can defend myself if anything were to happen again.” Ignis sighed again, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Alright. If this occurs again, we will be taking a trip to the citadel. As for now, I think it’d be best if I stayed for a while longer to make sure that you’re not only safe but to make sure the swelling does go down.” 

Iggy ended up cooking me dinner and made some tea. This was the second time I’ve reached out to him for something serious. The first time was a few months ago, asking him for some advice about living on my own. Even though he was assigned to be my brother's advisor, my father had also asked him to look out for me when needed. I liked Iggy, he’s extremely straightforward and I respect that a lot. He’s only a couple years older than Noct and I but he always acted so much more mature. 

“How has Noct been in school?” he asked, pouring tea into mugs for the both of us. “He’s doing really good, from what I can tell.” I replied, the ice pack still against my face. He nodded and sat across from me at the table. “I’m actually supposed to go downtown to a chocobo exhibit with him and his friend Prompto tomorrow. Do you know anything about it?” I added, taking a sip of tea. “Yes, it’s going to be taking place in the main plaza.” He replied, taking another sip. I nodded my head. Taking the ice pack off of my face. “The swelling has gone down a bit, perhaps you should use a potion to speed up the healing process.” Ignis took notice, grabbing the bag he had brought with him, pulling out a potion. He handed the bottle over to me, taking out of his hand and drinking the entire bottle dry. 

“I don’t want tomorrow to be ruined and burden others why my face is all jacked up.” I sighed. Ignis sat there, listening to what I had to say. “I enjoy Nocts company a ton and I would hate to have him worry about me. I don’t want to make him feel like I’m a burden to him.” I ranted. It was true, after years of being busy and having minimal contact with my brother, I didn't want to push him away even more.

“I understand, I’m sure his highness doesn’t mind being an emotional crutch for his younger sister. Perhaps you should open up to him more, he wishes you could be there for him as well.” Ignis reassured me, making me feel a little bit better. I nodded my head, cupping the mug in front of me. “Well, Marlena.” Ignis had started getting up from his seat taking his mug over to the sink. “It is getting quite late. I’ll be leaving, so you can rest up before your day filled with activities.” “Alright, thank you again for stopping by.” I got up as well, placing my mug in the sink next to his. “I’ll finish up the dishes, so you don’t have to worry about them.”

I laid in bed, flipping through my friends snapchats. Cal sent me one during my visit with Ignis. It was a black screen with text reading: “I’m so sorry...” I left it on read, still in shock of what he did to me. Then I received a text from a number that wasn’t in my contacts.

???: Hey! It’s Prompto, I know this is weird but Noct gave me your number so we can plan for tomorrow ^( ^.^ )^

It wasn’t like Noctis to just give out my number like that. 

Me: Hi Prompto, what time should we meet up and where?  
Prompto: Uhhhh the event doesn't start until noonish but I was thinking maybe we could meet up for breakfast?? ^_^’

It definitely has been awhile since I went out for breakfast. I usually just had a banana or some yogurt in the morning before school. While still living at the palace I didn’t have time to eat, since I was always on the go.

Me: That sounds lovely. Did you have a place in mind that you would want to go to?

I waited a few minutes for him to reply.

Prompto: There’s this really awesome cafe that has the best crepes! (drool face emoji) 

He sent me the location of the cafe. The toasty Moogle brunch spot. I’ve never even heard of this place, maybe it’s new? 

Me: Okay, Noct and I can meet you there around 9. If that’s okay with you.  
Prompto: Sounds good! See you then!!! :D

I woke up to the sound of my alarm I had set before falling asleep. 7 am. I did my usual school routine. Shower, brush teeth, hair, apply make up, and get dressed. I decided to wear a mini skater skirt, sheer black tights, a white button up shirt with a thin grey sweater over top of it, folding the collar over it. As for what shoes I was going to wear, I wore a pair of white and brown oxfords. I checked the time after placing my shoes on, 8 am. I called Noct to make sure he was up and ready as well. 

“Hey.” He answered, sounding like he was up for the day. “Are you ready to meet Prompto for breakfast?” “About that..” He started. “I forgot I had some meetings at the Citadel, so I won’t be joining you guys today.” I stood there, dumbfounded. “So, you’re leaving me to hang out with YOUR friend. Noct..” I groaned. “I’ll make it up to you.” my brother said in a smug tone. “You better.” I hung up on him. I placed my phone in my designer purse and headed out.

The fresh morning air was a bit brisk, I was glad I had some layers on. The Toasty Moogle was only a 30 minute walk from the apartment, so it wasn't too far. I was still fuming about Noct leaving me alone with his friend, considering I wanted to spend time with him too. I liked Prompto but he can get kinda awkward at times which gets annoying. After walking for about 20 minutes, my phone buzzed. 

Prompto: Soooo Noct isn’t gonna make it today, are you still down to go??

I stopped walking and replied back to him.

Me: Of course. I’m almost at the cafe. Meet you there.

I placed my phone in the pocket of my skirt and kept walking. I made it to the cafe, there were a few groups of people sitting outside underneath umbrellas. I looked through the large window of the cafe and saw more people inside. It was definitely a charming little eatery.

“Hey! Sorry if I made you wait.” I turned around and there he was. Seeing Prompto not wearing his usual school uniform threw me through a loop. He was wearing super slim cut black jeans, a grey tank top with a dark grey zip up hoodie with no sleeves over top of it, black leather cuffs over his right wrist and black combat boots. I would have never guessed this was his aesthetic, it was very punk goth esque. His bright personality would suggest otherwise.

“I just got here.” I giggled. “Shall we?” I motioned him to enter the cafe first, he smiled and nodded his head. The hostess greeted us as we walked in and sat us outside on the patio at one of the empty tables with an umbrella over it. She handed us menus and excused herself. Prompto and I sat across from each other, observing the menu in silence, awkward silence. 

“So how far do you live from here?” I asked, making conversation, killing the silence. Prompto looked up from the menu with a nervous expression on his face, “Ugh, not too far. Maybe a ten, fifteen minute walk.” So he lived close by, hence why he knew about this place.

“That’s not too bad, so it takes about the same time to walk home from mine and Nocts apartment.” I noted. “Yeah! It’s super convenient since I’m always at Nocts place.” He said in a chipper tone. “He always invites me to spend the night so we can play video games all night.” I smiled at the fact that Noct has a best friend like that. I, on the other hand, don’t have anyone like that. All of my friends are older than me, other actresses my age are too absorbed in themselves and it always gets annoying when they wouldn't shut up about themselves. Probably why I spent so much of my time with Calrin.

“Do you like video games?” Prompto asked placing the menu down on the table. I nodded my head and smiled, “Yeah, I play a bit of kings knight here and there when I get a chance. I mostly play single player games since I like being fully absorbed in a story.” I chuckled. “We definitely have to play kings knight sometime!” Prompto exclaimed. The waitress came back and asked if we were ready to order. I ordered a simple strawberry and cream crepe with orange juice while Prompto ordered eggs, pancakes, toast and an orange juice. It didn’t take long for our food to be delivered to our table. It was definitely instagram worthy so I pulled out my phone and took a picture of my plate.

“Takin a foodie pic, I see.” Prompto took notice. I smirked at him, “Yeah, do you want to be in the picture too?” He instantly grinned, “Sure!” I opened up snapchat and angled my phone just right to get him and both of our plates in the shot. Prompto made a silly pose, holding his glass of orange juice up to his mouth, pinky out, smiling with his eyes closed.

“Here, take a look.” I handed him my phone to show him. “Hey, you’re a pretty good photographer! The lighting is perfect.” He gave me a thumbs up. I posted the pic to my story and put my phone back in my pocket. “Can I get a shot of you too?” He chirped, taking out his camera. “Sure.” I placed a hand underneath my chin, tilted my head a bit and smiled. He snapped the picture and instantly blushed when he saw the outcome. He showed me the image on his camera without saying anything. It was perfect. “Now that, that’s instagram worthy.” I preached. “You think so?” He took his camera back, placing it on the table next to him. “Most definitely.” I smiled, picking up my fork and started eating my crepe. 

We finished eating and the waitress dropped the bill off to us, leaving it in the middle of the table. Out of habit I grabbed it first and started reaching for my wallet.  
“You don’t have to pay.” Prompto fretted. “I invited you so I’ll pay, plus you paid for us at the sushi place and I feel bad that you spent so much money there.” I looked at him with surprise, “It’s no big deal, but if you insist.” I gave him the receipt, putting my wallet back in my purse. “I’ll get the next one.”

We left the cafe and made our way to the plaza. “Thanks for breakfast, you were right, the crepes there were really good.” I looked up at the blond and smiled at him. He smiled back, “It was my pleasure! Next time we’ll have to bring Noct with us.” I nodded my head in agreement. 

The plaza was only a few blocks from the cafe, it was bustling with tons of people. There were dozens of stalls and vendors, selling stuffed animals, food, there were festival games, and of course a chocobo chick petting zoo. 

“We need to see the baby chocobos! Let’s go!” Prompto grabbed my hand and dragged me through the crowd to the petting zoo. We waited in line to enter the corale only to be greeted by an angry stall worker at the entrance.

“10,000 yen per person to pet the chicks.” The man growled. Prompto’s jaw dropped due to the surprise of how much it was to pet the chocobos. I pulled out some money and handed it to the man, “Here, that should be enough for the both of us.” Blondie looked over at me with worry and the man ripped the money out of my hand and opened the fence for us to enter. I pulled Prompto by the edge of his grey hoodie and led him into the pen filled with the baby chocobos. 

“Look at them!” I said trying to reflect the same excitement Prompto had to make him feel better about me paying for the both of us. I picked one up in my arms and snuggled it. The baby chocobo was soft and super loving. It nuzzled its head into my neck and started chirping with joy. I’ve never held any type of animal before, due to not having an interest in animals. I looked over at Prompto who was now sitting in a huge pile of them, loving every single moment. I took a selfie with the baby chocobo in my arms. I sat in the pile of birds next to chocoboy and was instantly surrounded by more chicks. 

“They are SO ADORABLE!” Prompto couldn’t contain his excitement. We petted every single chick, Prompto definitely kissed every one of them, showing them all the love they deserved. Prompto pulled out his camera and took about a hundred pictures of the adorable creatures. He then flipped the camera around so the lens was facing us in the mound of birds. I had three baby chicks in my lap and so did he. I leaned in closer to him so we were both in the photo. I leaned in closer than I had intended, the birds were almost pushing me over so my head was leaning on Prompto’s shoulder. Then the petting zoo worker yelled to us, “Time’s up!” We both groaned with disappointment. Prompto got up with no problem but when I tried to get up the baby chicks started to pile on top of me.

“I think I need some help.” I laughed. I held out my hands and Prompto grabbed them, pulling me up out of the mound. I lost my footing and crashed into him. Thankfully he stood his ground and caught me. I held onto him tightly, trying to step over the little yellow feathered animals. “Oof.” I huffed, trying not to step on them. Upon exiting, I noticed my hand starting to get warm. I looked down and saw that blondie had a grip on it. He was holding my hand and it seemed like he didn’t want to let go, but I did. I slipped my hand out of his and cleared my throat.

“Well, that was most certainly fun. Did you want to play any games or look at the other vendors?” I suggested. Prompto looked at me and nodded his head, “There’s a ring toss game that I wanna check out.” I agreed to accompany him, we made our way to the ever growing crowd to the ring toss stand. I’ve never been interested in festival/carnival games, they’re rigged so that you keep paying money to win, and no one ever wins. I stood and watched chocoboy play for a bit then something caught my eye. A few stalls over I saw a huge stuffed chocobo plushie. I walked over to the vendor and eyed it a bit closer. It was a prize to be won.

“You want to win that adorable stuffed animal, lil lady?” The old man running the stall asked. I nodded my head, still eyeing it. “All you have to do is shoot all the targets without missing a shot, think you can do it?” The man handed me a pop-cap gun. “I’ll let you play the first game for free, after that it’ll be 500 yen per try.” He smiled. I took the pop-cap gun and took aim, readying myself. A buzzer went off and the targets started rotating around the stall. I started shooting the targets, hitting every one of them right in the middle, knocking them down one by one. The old man looked with disbelief that a girl like me was annihilating his game. The buzzer went off again when the last target got shot down.

“You’ve got great aim lil’ lady! The big plushie is all yours.” He handed me the oversized chocobo and I went on my way back to Prompto, who was still trying to get the rings on the top of the glass bottles.

“Any luck?” I asked standing next to him again. “Not yet!” he said with confidence. He tossed the last ring and it bounced off the side of one of the bottles. I could see the disappointment in his expression when he missed. I held out the giant chocobo plush to him, “Here, I got this for you.” Prompto looked over at me and his face instantly lit up. “Wow, that thing is huge! You sure you wanna give it to me?” He asked with much surprise. I simply nodded my head handing it over to him. “Of course, you like chocobos a lot so I figured you should at least take one home today. Even if it is just a stuffed toy.” Prompto grinned ear to ear with happiness. “Thank you so much, Marlena! I’m gonna love it forever.” He hugged it tightly. I smiled back at him. “It’s getting pretty crowded here, did you want to see anything else today while we’re out and about?” He thought to himself for a moment, “Nope! I did pretty much everything I wanted to do. Do you wanna see or do anything?” I shook my head. “Well, I have nothing else planned for today. D-do you still want to hang out? At least until Noct is done with his errands?” He nervously asked, I shrugged and replied, “I suppose we could.”

We headed back to my apartment, the chattering of the crowd growing more muffled the further away we walked. I seriously didn’t know what else to do or how to entertain Noct’s friend, considering I barely knew him. 

“Prompto, what else do you do for fun?” I asked, hoping to figure something else to do that he enjoys. “I like to go running, playing video games, taking pictures, watching movies, and reading comics.” I tried to think of something we could do that didn’t involve taking him back home with me but alas I had no ideas. 

“Well, we can go back to my apartment and watch some movies. We can even pick up some snacks on the way home, if you’d like.” I proposed to him. “Okay!” the blond agreed. We stopped at the corner store a block away from the apartment complex. Prompto bought some chips, popcorn and some soft drinks.

We entered my apartment, taking off our shoes and headed to the living room. “You can make yourself at home.” I placed my purse on the dining room table along with the bag containing our snacks for the night. “Marlena, thank you for paying for me to pet the chocobo chicks, winning me this prize and inviting me into your home.” I turned to see Prompto bowing before me. I felt bad that he was treating me like I was of higher status than him. I mean, technically I am but I try not to see myself that way.

“Hey, no worries. It was well worth it. Besides, that’s what friends do.” I placed a hand on his shoulder and he stood up straight. “You can treat me the same as you treat Noctis.” I laughed. “So, c'mon dude. Let’s play some video games and watch movies.” I giggled even more, never having the word ‘dude’ come out of my mouth before. Prompto had a gleaming smile on his face and nodded his head. “Okay!” 

I sat on the couch and went through my phone while Prompto looked at my video game collection on the bookshelf. I received so many messages on snapchat because of the pics I posted to my story. Most of them asking who Prompto was and if Cal and I were still together. I didn’t reply to any of them since it wasn’t anyone's business.

“You weren’t kidding when you said you mostly play single player games.” Prompto acknowledged, still skimming through the games. “Yeah, I don’t really have many people to play games with besides my brother but he doesn’t play fair.” I replied scrolling through instagram. “If you want to play a game, I don’t mind watching.” Blondie turned to me, “Are you sure? We can always take turns.” I nodded, “Yeah, I like watching other people play.” With that said, he picked out a game and popped it into one of the many consoles I owned. I turned the tv on and he sat next to me, placing his giant stuffed animal in between us. I handed him the controller and watched him play Wind Waker. I decided to get comfortable and leaned my upper half on top of the plushie. It was relaxing watching someone else play one of my video games for once. 

“So Marlena, do you ever hang out with other famous people, like other actors?” Prompto asked. “Nah, most people in show biz are fake. I enjoy my own company more than I do theirs.” I yawned. “What about your boyfriend? Is he fake too?” I couldn’t help but chuckle, “Yeah, he’s the biggest phony there is.” He paused the game and turned to me, placing an arm on the top of the couch. “Sooo, why are you with him?” He teased. I shrugged, “I’m not anymore. We ended things yesterday.” “Oh, sorry to bring it up...” Blondie murmured. “It’s fine, it was something that was long overdue.” I stretched my leg out from underneath me, getting more comfortable. Prompto unpaused the game and continued playing. My eyes started to grow heavy, so I decided to rest them for a moment.

I felt something poking my tender cheek. I opened my eyes to see a happy freckled face staring right at me. “You fell asleep! I was gonna ask if we could have some snacks.” I placed my hand over half of my face. “You bought them, no need to ask me.” I hummed. “Well yeah, I wasn’t sure if you wanted any.” He sang walking over to grab a bag of chips. I rubbed my face then letting my hand fall off the side of the couch. “Is...is that a bruise?” Prompto asked, concerned pointing to his own. I was fully awake now, sitting straight up and running to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and saw that I smudged my foundation off with my hand, completely forgetting about the horrid bruising. “No, no, no, no.” I said over and over again in pure panic. There was surely no way of hiding the truth from chocoboy now. I wetted a washcloth and wiped all of my foundation clean off my face, leaving my eye makeup in place. I placed the cold damp cloth on my cheek and walked back out into the living room. Prompto stood there in shock.

“So, you know how I said Calrin and I broke up?” I sighed with defeat. Prompto cautiously nodded his head, listening intently. “Well, he hit me. A few times. Leaving me with this.” I took the cloth away from my face, exposing the large black and blue mark. Prompto placed a hand over his mouth, even more in shock than before. After a moment of observing it from afar, he rushed over to me. Placing a hand on the left side of my head, he bent down and looked at it more. “H-how? Why?” He frowned. “I’ll tell you, only if you promise not to tell Noctis.” I held up my pinky. “I know this is a lot to take on, especially since we just became friends.” I tried to joke. 

Prompto wrapped his pinkie around mine, “I promise. Boy, can you take a hit.” He tried to joke as well, trying to lighten the mood. I couldn't help but laugh, he laughed with me. “But anyways, why he did it? He got jealous that I was starting to have a social life with you and Noct and made a huge deal out of it. Pushing me to tell him that we were done with our relationship.” I sighed. “He’s out of my life now so no need to worry about it anymore.” Prompto nodded his head, listening to what I had to say. “Man, who knew the crown city sweetheart was secretly a badass.” I laughed at his remark. “But you’re right, as long as he’s gone we shouldn’t worry about this happening again, right? I mean, it’s not like you can’t sick the crownsgaurds on him if he tries anything funny again.” He took his hand off my head and walked back over to the table to grab the bag of chips. “Now that the cat’s outta the bag, wanna watch a movie or somethin instead?” “Definitely.”

After watching about 3 movies, I noticed that it was almost midnight. I looked over at blondie, his eyes were noticeably tired. We still hadn't heard back from Noct, who was most likely in bed by now. I texted him a few times and no answer. I looked back over at Prompto, his head bobbing, trying to stay awake.

“Hey, have you heard back from Noctis at all?” I asked sitting up a bit, turning the living room light on with a remote. Prompto looked over at me then checked his phone. “Nope, not a peep outta him. Maybe he got caught up with official princely business.” I started to stretch and let out a tired sigh. “Well, it’s pretty late and I don’t feel comfortable with you walking the streets alone at this hour.” I started. “You can stay the night, if you’re cool with that. I can grab you a blanket and some pillows or you can just sleep in my bed and I can sleep out here.” He had a surprised look on his face which then turned red. “Ugh, I can sleep on the couch. It’s pretty comfy.” He insisted. “Okay, I’ll go and grab a blankey and pillows.” I got up and headed over to my bedroom. Grabbing the spare comforter from my closet and a pillow from my bed. When I got back to give them to him, he was fast asleep. I placed the comforter on top of him, making sure it covered him from his shoulders down to his feet. As for the pillow, I gently lifted his head enough to slide the pillow underneath him. I turned the living room light off and gently patted his chest, whispering “Nighty night.” and walking back to my room. 

The next morning I woke up to my alarm going off at 8 am. Quickly turning it off and getting out of bed. The apartment was quiet, until I walked into the living room. Prompto was still fast asleep, he wasn’t snoring or anything. It sounded like he was humming more or less, a low hum as he breathed out. I tiptoed over to the bathroom, trying not to wake him. Taking a shower was my favorite part of the day, it was like washing away yesterday’s worries down the drain or something deep like that. As I got out, I realized that I forgot to bring a change of clothes with me. I usually just walk from the bathroom to my room naked but I obviously can’t do that today, with chocoboy on the couch I wouldn’t want him waking up seeing me walk around in the nude. As much as he might like that, I didn’t quite fancy the idea.

I wrapped a towel around myself, the only thing he would see bare would be my legs and shoulders. No big deal, right? I opened the bathroom door, peeking out to see if he was up. Luckily he was still laying down on the couch. I tiptoed through the kitchen, walking behind the island that the sink was on. I peeked over at him and oh god. He was awake. His eyes were glued to his phone, at least I thought they were. I tried not to pay any attention and kept walking, not greeting him. My heart was pounding out of my chest. I got to my bedroom and instantly had an anxiety attack. No one has seen me so unclothed before, besides Calrin because, ya know, reasons. I threw on some black sweatpants with the pant legs cuffed at the bottom and a grey t-shirt with a small kingsglaive emblem on the sleeves and a small pocket on the front. I had no plans of leaving my apartment today so there was no need to dress up or put on any makeup.

When I walked back out into the living room he was still on his phone. Maybe he didn’t even notice or maybe he’s too embarrassed to mention that he saw me with only a towel on.

“Morning.” I waved to him with a hand in my pocket. He looked over at me and grinned, “Mornin’!” I sat on the far side of the couch, sitting crossed. “Did you sleep okay?” I asked making small talk. “Yeah, I slept great! Your couch is suuuper comfy.” He smiled sitting up and stretching. “D-did you sleep alright?” He asked. I nodded my head crossing my arms and yawning. 

“Noct never texted us back, did he?” I laughed. Prompto rubbed the back of his head, “Nah, never did. I wonder what’s up with that.” I pulled my phone out and texted him.

Me: Hey. You gonna reply or what.

Noct instantly texted back.

Noctis: Yea. What are you making for breakfast?

I tried my best not to get angry at his response.

“You okay?” Prompto asked. I looked over at him and put on a fake smile. “Yeah, Noctis just texted me. I think he’s gonna come over for some breakfast.” I looked back at my phone.

Noctis:???  
Me: Idk just come over. You’ve got some explaining to do.  
Noctis: K.

I tossed my phone to the other side of the couch and got up. “You might wanna text Noct and see when he’s coming over.” I suggested to Prompto. “Okie dokie!” I walked into the kitchen and rummaged through my cabinets and fridge to see what I could make for breakfast. I had eggs and some bacon I could cook. I pulled those out and placed them on the counter. I continued to look to see if I had anything else to go with it. Some veggies and leftovers that Iggy made the other night.  
“Um, Marlena?” Prompto called out. I looked over my shoulder at him, he had a worried look on his face. “What’s wrong?” I instinctively asked. He pointed to his right cheek. Oh shit, the bruise. I placed a hand over the large bruise on my face. “Might wanna cover that up before Noct shows up soon.” I closed the refrigerator and quickly ran to my room. I sat at my vanity and started putting on color correcting foundation, covering my face with it. It looked stupid to just wear foundation so I did a light contour and light eye makeup too. A ‘natural’ look if you will.

“Prompto, can you come here for a moment?” I hollered to him. He walked into my room and stood before me. “Does this look okay?” I fretted, turning my face towards him. He smiled and nodded his head, “Looks good to me. Can’t even tell that you were in an all out brawl.” I started to freak out internally. I sighed with a bit of relief, “Alright, let’s hope I don’t touch my face today.” I started to put away all of my brushes. “You have a huge bed.” Prompto examined my living quarters. I looked at him through the vanity mirror, he was curious as to what was in my room. I didn’t have much, a few dressers, my vanity and a room divider with my uniform shirt and jacket hanging from it with a large standing mirror behind it.

“Yeah, I like to sprawl out when I sleep. Anyways,” I turned to face him, “Did his highness give you a time of arrival?” As I said that, there he was. Standing in the doorway of my bedroom.

“Did you spend the night here?” My brother looked at Prompto with a sly smile on his face. Prompto and I looked at each other, he started to blush and looked back at Noct. “You sly dog.” Noctis crossed his arms, leaning against the door frame.  
“He slept on the couch, you perv.” I retorted, standing up. “Real nice of you to finally show up 24 hours later.”  
“I had some catching up to do with Iggy.” He replied with a smug tone. “Tell me Mar, how are you and Calrin? You guys good?” Ignis must’ve told him about the incident.  
“We broke up, nothing more to report.” I glared at him. “Hm, alright. Well if there is ever more to report, let me know.”  
This must be his way of telling me that he wants in on my life.

I ended up making scrambled eggs, bacon and toast for the three of us. We chatted about how mine and Prompto’s day went yesterday, Prompto told him about it with great excitement which was entertaining. It was at this moment when I realized that Prompto was a great friend not only to Noct but to me as well and I’m excited to see what kind of fun adventures we would go on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and thank you for giving this a read! I appreciate all of your support ^_^

**Author's Note:**

> Again, thank you for giving this a read! I have a ton of chapters pre-written so I'll be updating this often. I've been debating putting this up for months now. If you have any suggestions on how I can evolve this story or how I should properly edit, please reach out and share your ideas with me! Any and all comments are welcome ^_^


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